Trouble on the East Side? El Regio and La Regiomontana “Temporarily” Closed

Pollo El Regio on East Riverside has a sign up saying that they are closed until July 28 for remodeling. Today’s the 28th, and they were not open when I drove by a few hours ago. I also didn’t see any evidence of remodeling. I’m also sad to report that La Regiomontana (also known as Taquería El Regio) next door has an undated memo on their drive-thru window saying that they, too, are not open for business because the owners asked the landlords to close temporarily. The note also warns people not to enter the property without permission and thanks the restaurant’s fans, saying that they will re-open in a few days. However, there’s no way of telling how long they’ve been closed.

When I checked out a new taquería on Montopolis, I noticed that a white city truck with the words “Code Enforcement” on its door was just departing . Another patron told me that a man had entered to hand the girls in the kitchen a yellow notice. Taquería Rodriguez, a taco trailer that operates in a convenience-store lot on East Riverside, also had a sign up stating that they were closed.

I can’t help but wonder if these closures, all in the same part of town, are related to some kind of citywide crack-down. Has anyone else noticed other closures on that side of town?

I don't know about code violations, but sadly, I think El Regio is in trouble. The exact same signs were at the Stassney location. I went back on July 28 and it was still closed, this time no sign about remodeling or when it would reopen. There was no actual remodel, I believe that notice was just to keep people from calling them. You wouldn't believe the amount of people circling their parking lot with confused, sad faces! Mine was one of them! The only hope I have is that there were actual code violations and they are in the process of "cleaning up their act." Please, if there is a God, they will reopen!

I might literally shed tears if El Regio closes. I tried it a few months ago and I can't live without that Red Chicken/Green Salsa mixture. Maybe we can write letters to the owner?

The thing that few people know is that El Pollo Regio is a chain that has a few locations throughout Texas. Unless the whole chain is in financial trouble (or there were code violations), I can't see why the Austin locations would be going under...I see a lot of good business flowing through that place.

Well, there’s some good news, squertz. The Austin locations of El Regio were never listed on that website—at least for the past couple of years. The website would seem to have been set up by the Dallas-area and Round Rock franchises. So nothing has changed as far as that goes. But I like your idea of organizing in defense of taco trucks if there has been some kind of crackdown.

I've found no evidence to confirm that particularly ugly online rumor, and I hate to think of what might have motivated someone to post that. I did read in a Spanish-language local paper that, two years ago, the owners of the East Riverside location were being legally challenged for not paying overtime to some of their workers. There’s nothing to connect that report to their current closing, however.

It’s come up on this board before that Pollo El Regio has franchises in Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio, and other cities in the state. All franchises are independently owned, though individuals can own more than one location. It looks like for now we have to assume that the East Riverside restaurants, and any Austin El Regio branches owned by the same partners, are closed for financial reasons. I’m still hoping that it’s just temporary.

There is a crackdown on mobile vendors right now. There's a new inspector on the scene with something to prove. I fear for some of my favorite mobile vendors, because it's not going well for them out there folks. Not going well at all...

I have heard that all of the El Regio's are owned by the same people, so I don't think it's an issue with some of them being owned by someone else and needing to close. Plus, we went past two different north locations last night, and both of them were open and even had nice newish looking signs. So, if you're looking for your fix, the locations at Rundberg and theone off of Berkman, are definitely still open.

The only truck I saw there this weekend was El Pollo Rico, in the gas station lot. 1/2 a chicken was 6-7 bucks. A whole was on special if you got it before 1:00 midweek. Chicken was wonderful -- red chile and charred crust. Came with brilliant orange red rice, spicy beans with bacon and sausage; creamy, spice green sauce; red sauce, lime, and corn tortillas.

Zeb, I reckon some of the Regio locations are renaming themselves El Pollo Rico. The Rundberg one had this new name too but I grabbed chow there on Saturday and it was the same tasty goodness as always.